- September 10, 2026
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Brandon “Dutch” Mendenhall and Amy Marie Smith Vaughn, founders of Rad Diversified REIT and several other companies have been indicted by a federal grand jury in a scheme that includes stealing from an employee benefit plan.
The pair face 10 counts of theft or embezzlement from employee benefit plans and five counts of theft or embezzlement in connection with healthcare. If convicted, they each face up to 10 years in prison.
The U.S. Department of Justice is also seeking restitution for proceeds that can be traced back to the alleged offences, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe says in a statement announcing the indictment.
The exact amount of how much is alleged to have been stolen was not disclosed in a statement or the indictment.
The indictment, handed down Aug. 19 but sealed at the time, is just the latest challenge for Mendenhall, 47, and Vaughn, 48, who are facing a rash of legal issues including a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit.
Mendenhall and Vaughn, according to the allegations in the just-released indictment are the founders, registered agents or officers of several entities, including RAD Diversified, RADD Capital, The Seminar Solution and DHI Holdings.
The companies bought, renovated and rented residential properties, primarily in Florida and Pennsylvania, while also owning homes in Texas, California, New Jersey, Idaho and Delaware. At its peak, they controlled more than 550 properties, according to an SEC lawsuit.
The pair marketed investments through social media, on podcasts, seminars and a 60-person internal sales force, frequently invoking Christian values, patriotism and support for military veterans to build trust with prospective investors.
The Justice Department laid out the latest allegations in a statement Thursday and in the indictment.
Prosecutors allege that starting in the spring 2024 Mendenhall and Vaughn pocketed money withheld from employee paychecks meant as contributions for benefits.
In the spring, they stopped paying into a 401(k) and in September into a health insurance plan all while continuing to collect money from the employees.
Between September 2024 and January 2025, the indictment shows that $24,296.91 was withheld from employee paychecks meant for payments to the healthcare plan. And between May 2024 and February 2025, $16,059.38 was withheld from employee paychecks meant for contributions to the 401(k) plan.
As for the other legal issues, the SEC.’s lawsuit alleges that investors were told the company was profitable and that “zero investors have ever lost money,” despite annual losses that included at least $31 million in 2022 and $22 million in 2023. Annual rental income, according to the complaint, never exceeded $5 million.
The lawsuit alleges Mendenhall and Vaughn defrauded more than 5,500 investors in a $152 million investment scheme.
The money, according to the SEC allegations, was spent on private jets, luxury goods, adult nightclub outings and other personal expenses.
The pair, as recently as last year, was also being investigated by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier's office over accusations they were selling real estate investment services through their fund and pocketing the cash instead of buying properties as advertised.
The office issued subpoenas in July 2025 and Uthmeir, in a statement at the time, said, “This appears to be a Ponzi scheme.”
The Attorney General’s office did not respond Thursday to a request for an update on the status of the investigation.
And in a separate case, Mendenhall is facing federal charges after being indicted earlier this year on one count of mail fraud for allegedly over-inflating his personal income on a mortgage application for a $1.6 million property in 2021.
The investigation that led to the most recent indictment was led by the U.S. Department of Labor’s employee benefits security administration, the FBI, IRS criminal investigation division and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation’s bureau of financial investigations.
Assistant U.S Attorney Merrilyn Hoenemeyer will prosecute the case.
